Cocktails from the Farmers Market!

Posted by Naomi Gabay

Forget the liquor store for cocktails -- this week we're going to the farmers' market! Allen Katz has a special guest today: Bridget Albert, author of ”Market-Fresh Mixology.” Bridget is sharing two recipes from her new book with us: papaya pisco sour and blue lavender mojito.

Fresh lavender add a wonderful taste to cocktails!

Papaya Pisco Sour
2 papaya cubes Juice of one pressed lime
1 ounce simple syrup
2 ounces pisco brandy
Splash of egg white
Angostura bitters

1. In a mixing glass, muddle papaya and lime juice. Add simple syrup, pisco brandy, and egg white. Add ice to tin.

2. Shake hard. Strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with 3 drops of Angostura bitters.

Blue Lavender Mojito
10 to 15 mint leaves
10 to 15 blueberries
1 ounce lavender syrup
Juice of 1/2 of a pressed lime
1 1/2 ounces white rum
Club soda

1. In a tall glass, muddle mint leaves, simple syrup or lavender syrup, lime juice,  blueberries, and rum.

2. Muddle just enough to combine flavors, being careful not to over-muddle. Fill glass with crushed ice. Top with club soda and stir.

3. Garnish with 3 blueberries on a pick. Serve with a straw.

Allen's Recipes

Up on the Roof
1 1/2 ounces Flor de Cana seven-year aged rum
1/4 ounce Campari
1 ounce tart cherry juice
1/4 ounce fresh lime juice
1/2  egg white

1. Shake ingredients over ice and strain into a rocks glass filled with ice. Top with a splash of club soda and garnish with an orange twist.

Lavender Margarita
2 ounces 4 Copas Blanco Tequila
1 ounce fresh lime juice
1/2 ounce lavender-infused simple syrup*

1. Shake ingredients over ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a lime wheel.

*Lavender Simple Syrup
2 cups water
2 cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoons dried lavender blossoms

1. Bring ingredients to a boil in saucepan, stirring so that the sugar dissolves. Reduce heat and continue stirring until all the sugar has dissolved.

2. Remove from heat and let steep for 30 minutes. Remove lavender blossoms and allow syrup to cool. Store in an airtight container and keep refrigerated.

Picking Pet Toys

Posted by Jocelyn Santos

Pet toys can help curb anxiety, motivate good behavior, and provide mental and physical stimulation.

360 of my dogs’ favorite toys!

Think about your dog’s activity level, temperament, and instinctive responses. Is your dog an aggressive chewer that loves to rip toys apart, or is he fond of gently carrying plush toys? Is your dog an energetic puppy, or a laid-back senior dog? The answers to these questions will help determine your pet’s toy needs. Consider the toy’s size, construction, and function as well -- don’t give your dog a ball to play with if you’d prefer he lie quietly at your feet during dinner. Instead, give him a more sedate toy like one that can be filled with a variety of yummy treats.

Operations manager Neil Golub’s dog, Jackson, loves playing chase with his ball.

Garden Tours

    Posted by Dionne Victor

Now that the sun is coming out far more frequently, what better time than now to get some gardening inspiration than through a garden tour.  Tony and Andrew talked a bit about it on Thursday's Homegrown, and said one site to to find a gardening tour near you is through the Garden Conservancy website and the Open Days Program.  Go here for more information.

Garden tours are relaxing and gives you options. They can act as a testing ground, or give you some ideas on what plants will thrive in your environment, and for novices it gives you inspiration on how to cultivate your own garden.

Peter Wooster's private garden in Connecticut

Get Out There and Garden and Exercise

Gardening hasn't always been equated with exercise, but it's a natural pairing.  An hour of moderate gardening with weeding, raking, or bending up and down while planting can get your heart rate up and prove healthy.  In fact, studies show that steady gardening can burn up to 300 calories in women and 400 calories in men. Nationally, state garden clubs have helped spread the message of garden and exercise through the annual National Gardening Exercise Day on June 6.

Just remember to start by stretching for five to ten minutes before to get warmed up and after to cool down and don't forget your sunscreen.  So get out there on Monday and be a part of aerobic gardening.

For more information on National Gardening Exercise Day and tips on maximizing your workout, go here .

Making an Ambitious Cake

Posted by Jennifer Sendrow

When my friends Craig and Patricia announced that they'd be celebrating their wedding with a small party at home, I offered to make them a wedding cake. I love to bake, but this was the first time I tried to make such an ambitious cake!

                                       Here's the cake I made for Craig and Patricia.

Tips for Perfect Pasta

Posted by Mario Bosquez

On "Living Today," we got stellar tips on cooking Italian cuisine from acclaimed chef, author, and television host Lidia Bastianich. We learned about her famed restaurants, such as Felidia, her Emmy-nominated television shows, such as "Lidia's Italy," and her latest companion cookbook for the show.

    Lidia poses with me in the studio. We have the same glasses! Well, almost.

Lidia also held an impromptu cooking class that focused on making the perfect pasta. She mentioned:

1. Always salt the water (Lidia suggested enough salt to "slightly below" the level of seawater or else the pasta will taste flat).


2. Never put oil in the boiling water.


3. Lidia prefers dry over fresh pasta.


4. If you're using marinara sauce, Lidia said that unless you're using tomatoes at the peak of their summer freshness, canned tomatoes are OK (use the San Marzano variety).

Thank you, Lidia, for all your wonderful tips and insights!

Question of the week

On Thursday's Homegrown, a listener called in worried because she found that lately her peonies weren't flowering as they've done in the past and she noticed a white film on them.  After describing her problem, Andrew and Tony's diagnosis was a foliage disease called powdery mildew.  Powdery mildew has the look of baby powder splotched over your plants.  Andrew told the caller to try using Safer soap or a homemade rose spray, which was developed by Cornell University, to do the trick.

 

Here's the recipe:

1 tablespoon of baking soda
2 tablespoon of horticultural spray oil
1 gallon of water

Mix these ingredients well and put them in a spray bottle and spray the sides of the leaves lightly.  Make sure to shake the bottle between sprays to keep the formula well mixed. Spray in the morning or early evening on the dry foliage.  Avoid the heat and sun of midday. Repeat for up to five days for best results.

Use this and tell us how it works.

Friendly Visits

Posted by Tony Bielaczyc

Not only do Andrew and I get to be radio personalities (!), we also travel the country and the world looking at beautiful gardens and visiting great (and maybe not so great...) nurseries. We have yet to get Stacey to post some pictures from her recent trip to Amsterdam and Prague. Those are coming, we hope! In the meantime, here are some shots of our friend David Culp's garden in Downingtown, PA. Dave and his partner Mike have been gardening here for years. Their devotion and their outright love of plants is spilling out all over the place. Everywhere you look, there is something to take your breath away, in the most wonderful way. You could fill a book with all that is there. In the meantime, here are just few shots from around the garden.

An overview of the main part of the garden with the vegetable garden in the center. It was a peak moment for Allium, notably A. 'Globemaster' Dave said they're like Lawrence Welk champagne bubbles floating over the rest of the borders. Dave really does travel everywhere looking for plants, from Japan to Russia to Holland and in every plant nursery he can find.

A border toward the back of the garden that will be full on roses by next week. Maybe I'll head back for another look. A BIG pot with an Agave is centrally placed in the bed. Behind the Agave is a single Geranium maculatum 'Espresso', with reddish brown foliage setting off the pale bluey-pink flowers. The edges of the beds had familiar friends like lady's mantle, forget-me-nots, lily-of the-valley. Dave uses a tried and true roster, but it's the way that they're used that makes this place so unique and a personal vision.

A truly great moment in gardening, Dave's wall garden. The former foundation of a barn on this 18th century homestead, it now holds any number of alpine perennials and succulents as well as a host of troughs with daphnes, junipers, pines in combination with other alpines. Mounds of Nepeta, Phlox and Corydalis lutea spill out and soften the hard surfaces. Pots with Agave and Opuntia seemingly tossed about. And on and on. There's even peony poking it's head into the shot. It's a free for all in perfect balance. I know he must spend hours looking and looking and looking at everything. Dave says he put some things in here and there and then sort of stood back to see what would happen, adding and yanking out what worked and didn't. Voila! I LOVE this spot.

Allen Katz's cocktails for Memorial Day Weekend!

Posted by Naomi Gabay

There's nothing better to kick off the summer than rum cocktails!  These Mojito recipes from Allen Katz  have me dreaming of heading out to the beach on this Memorial Day weekend!

Beachcomber
2 ounces Cruzan guava rum
1/2 ounce triple sec
3/4 ounce fresh lime juice
1/4 ounce Maraschino liqueur

1. Shake ingredients over ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a lime wedge and a fresh sprig of mint.

Citrus Mojito

1 1/2 ounces Cruzan Citrus

1/2 of a lime (pressed)

1 ounce simple syrup

10 to 15 fresh mint leaves

2 pineapple wedges, skinned

3 strawberries

Club soda

1. Build ingredients in a Collins glass. Top with chilled Champagne. Garnish with a powdered-sugar-dusted mint sprig and strawberry.

Mojito Kiwi Splash
1 1/2 ounces Cruzan light rum
1/2 of a fresh lime
1 ounce simple syrup
10 fresh mint leaves
Splash of kiwi puree

1.Shake ingredients over ice and strain into a Collins glass filled with ice. Top with club soda.

Frizzante Mojito
1 1/2 ounces Cruzan Single Barrel Estate rum
3/4 ounce fresh lime juice
1 ounce simple syrup
6 fresh mint leaves
2 dashes Angostura bitters
1 ounce Champagne or Prosecco

1. Muddle mint with lime juice and simple syrup in a mixing glass. Add rum and bitters and shake over ice. Strain into a cocktail glass or coupe and top with chilled Champagne.

Going Out and Staying In!

Posted by Mario Bosquez


Some socializing and some hermitizing for me!

It‘s always exciting when your friends express their creativity and talent through their work!

I recently attended a photographic exhibition featuring the work of my friend, Ray Parisi. His beautiful photographs are a wonderful example of how we can express ourselves in life: through gardening, crafting, and, in Ray's case, photography!

Congratulations Ray and thanks to L'asso, who hosted the exhibition. L'asso is located in New York City (in the Little Italy neighborhood) and makes pizza D.O.C. (Denominazione di origine Controllata). 

What’s D.O.C.? It‘s pizza made by the six Italian rules for Neapolitan pizza, such as: the tomatoes must be San Marzano and the mozzarella must be of buffalo milk. Who knew?

                                    Check out their delicious pizzas!

On to the hermitizing: It's home-project time for me, which means being a hermit and installing vinyl plank flooring in my bathroom. If you’re doing the same thing, remember: 

• The adhesive is very strong, so take extra care in placing the planks on each other since the glue is very fast-acting.
• Keep a very sharp knife (a carpet knife works well) handy and take your time. The installation is easy but needs that extra time so all the planks line up perfectly.

                                    My home project!

Hasta Pronto!

Mario